Arizona Wildcats football all-decade team

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An up-and-down decade for the football program still produced some of their best players ever

To commemorate the end of the decade, we will be compiling an all-decade (2010-19) team for each of the major Arizona programs. Next up: football.

Perhaps no program at the University of Arizona had a more polarizing decade then the Wildcats’ football team.

On one hand, the decade started with one of Arizona’s best runs ever, frequently appearing in the AP Poll and even winning one of the most competitive Pac-12 South races ever in 2014. Plus, multiple Wildcats made their mark nationally and became household names.

On the other hand, Arizona’s second half of the decade was a struggle. The team only made two bowl games and never finished above 7-6 between 2015 and 2019.

With three different coaches leading the way, the Wildcats finished the decade 63-64, which certainly is not a good look for the program. Even with the multiple high points and special players, the 2010s will likely go down as a forgettable decade for Arizona football.

Those special players that made the decade worth watching still deserve a mention for their impact on the team. As such, here is the Arizona football all-2010s team. We chose enough players to fill out a starting lineup on each side of the ball for the Wildcats.

Quarterbacks

Nick Foles (2009-11)

Foles may have started his career in a different decade, but he emphatically finished it in the 2010s by becoming Arizona’s best quarterback ever.

Foles came to Arizona via transfer from Michigan State after graduating from powerhouse Westlake High School in Austin. Foles started at quarterback for most of 2009, and all of 2010 and 2011. Despite his 2011 season being one of the best for a quarterback in the country, the Wildcats went only 4-8 in Mike Stoops’ final season.

Foles ended his career with a completion percentage of 66.8%, with just over 10,000 passing yards and 67 touchdowns. He leads all Arizona quarterbacks in passing yards and is tied with Willie Tuitama for the career lead in passing touchdowns.

Running Backs

Ka’Deem Carey (2011-13)

In his three years in the Wildcat backfield, Carey helped build the program towards its recent peak of 2014, while also happening to be one of the best running backs in the nation.

Carey was one of the best high school prospects to come out of Tucson, graduating from Canyon del Oro in 2010. He was a role player in 2011, before exploding into the national spotlight in 2012. He led the nation in rushing yards that year, becoming a consensus All-American while also helping Arizona return to winning after a rough 2011. He also broke the school single-game rushing yard record, scampering for 366 against Colorado.

His 2013 season was more of the same, as he finished with the second-most rushing yards in Arizona single-season history...behind Ka’Deem Carey. He left the Wildcats after his junior season. Carey finished his career with 4,239 rushing yards and 48 rushing touchdowns, both of which are the best career marks for a Wildcat.

Wide Receivers*

Juron Criner (2008-11)

Criner was Foles’ favorite target for their entire Arizona careers, and was another of the most important players of Mike Stoops’ tenure in Tucson.

Criner came to the Wildcats from Las Vegas and cracked the rotation as a freshman, before becoming a starter as a sophomore. In his final three seasons, Criner made his case as one of the best Arizona receivers of all-time, especially with his impressive junior season in 2010.

He finished his career with 209 catches for 2,859 receiving yards and 32 touchdown, placing him fourth in receptions and receiving yards and first in receiving touchdowns in Arizona history.

Austin Hill (2011-14)

Not only one of the best receivers of the decade, Hill is responsible for the most memorable offensive play for Arizona this decade, the famous “Hill Mary”.

Hill played a small role in his freshman year in 2011, before becoming Arizona’s star receiver in 2012. After missing 2013 with a knee injury, Hill still made his impact in a crowded receiver room in his senior season, helping Arizona have its best season in 16 years, as well as catching the Hail Mary to beat Cal that eventually helped Arizona win the Pac-12 South.

Hill finished his UA career with 151 receptions for 2,310 yards and 17 touchdowns. His 2012 season, where he recorded well over half his career stats, ranks among the best for a receiver in Wildcats history.

Cayleb Jones (2014-15)

After one year at Texas, Jones transferred to Arizona and instantly made his impact as one of the most important players of the decade.

The former four-star recruit sat out 2013 before instantly becoming Arizona’s lead receiver in 2014. Jones led the receiving corps during that 10-4 season, and followed it up with a similarly impressive junior season in 2015 before declaring for the NFL Draft.

Despite only playing two years for the Wildcats on a team built to run the ball, Jones racked up 129 career receptions for 1,926 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

Samajie Grant (2013-16)

Every receiving corps needs a second big play threat, and Grant dutifully provided that during the middle of this decade.

Grant was one of the rare players who made an impact for four full seasons. After a solid freshman year, Grant had his best year in 2014, complementing Hill and Jones. In 2015, Grant’s numbers dipped, and he acted as a hybrid receiver/running back in 2016, but his receiving career still ended up one of the best in Arizona history.

Grant caught 145 passes for 1,639 yards for 12 touchdowns in his career, and also rushed for 462 yards as a senior.

*tight ends were barely used in this decade, so we went with four receivers instead

Offensive Line

Jacob Alsadek (2013-17)

Alsadek redshirted in 2013,before becoming an instant brick wall for the Wildcats in 2014 at right guard. He started in all but four games from 2014 to 2017, earning a Freshman All-American nomination in 2014 and near unanimous All-Pac-12 nomination in 2017.

With Alsadek paving running lanes, the Wildcats twice led the Pac-12 in rushing yards.

Layth Friekh (2014-18)

Freikh was trusted with protecting Arizona’s blind side and paving the way for a run-heavy offense for four years, and he rarely allowed defenders through.

After a redshirt year, Freikh started every game he was available to play in, missing a bit of his senior season due to NCAA issues. Nevertheless, Freikh was the centerpiece of Arizona’s left side of the offensive line for his entire career.

Gerhard de Beer (2013-17)

The most imposing South African to ever grace a football field, De Beer didn’t earn as many starts as other members of this list, with only 21, but his impact in those 21 starts and in his reserve appearances left a huge impact on the fanbase’s memory and eventually earned him some stints on NFL practice squads.

Cayman Bundage (2012-15)

Another four year starter for the Wildcats, Bundage was a critical piece of four of the best Arizona offenses ever. Bundage started from his very first game as a true freshman through his senior season, playing almost entirely left guard until injuries forced him to move to center.

Faabians Ebbele (2010-14)

The anchor of the offensive line for the first half of the decade, Ebbele started almost every game at right tackle from 2011-14. Towering at 6-foot-8, he helped turn Arizona into one of the best offenses in the nation during his tenure.

Defensive Line

Brooks Reed (2007-10)

Reed may have only played in one year of this decade, but he was undoubtedly one of the best Wildcats to participate in this decade.

Another Tucson product, this time from Sabino, Reed started for four years for his hometown university. Reed finished his career with 114 tackles, with 25 being for loss and 17 being sacks. His best year was his senior season in 2010, where he earned first team All-Pac-10 honors.

Reggie Gilbert (2012-15)

Gilbert played almost every game of his career, racking up 144 tackles, with 28 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in those four years. Most of those tackles were big hits, and he managed to force four fumbles as well in his career.

Ricky Elmore (2007-10)

Another player who barely reached this decade, Elmore’s monstrous 2010 season guarantees that he deserves this spot.

After a solid 2007 and 2008, Elmore exploded into the spotlight in 2009 with a great season. His 2010 was even better, with 49 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks. Those huge season made up a sizable portion of his 128 career tackles and 25.5 career sacks. He earned second team All-Pac-10 honors.

Linebackers

Scooby Wright III (2013-15)

If any one player defined Arizona’s decade, it’s Wright, one of the most fun players in the entire nation in the 2010s.

Wright became an important member of the linebacking corps as a freshman in 2013, before turning in the best defensive season for any Wildcat this decade as a sophomore. Wright racked up 163 total tackles, with 31 being for loss and 15 being sacks.

On top of that, he forced five fumbles, with two of them being the most important takeaways in Arizona history (against Oregon and ASU). His 2015 season was cut short with injury, before he entered the NFL Draft.

Wright earned the Bronco Nagurski, Rotary Lombardi, Jack Lambert, and Chuck Bednarik Awards, as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year—and finished ninth in the Heisman voting—in 2014. Only Tedy Bruschi has made a similar impact for Arizona at linebacker.

Colin Schooler (2017-present)

Nobody could possibly compare to Wright’s career at Arizona, but Schooler has put up a valiant effort and has gotten pretty close to the type of numbers Wright put up.

Schooler emerged as a star early in his freshman year, with a game-clinching interception to win at Cal. Since then, he has been the undisputed leader of the Arizona defense, roaming the middle of the field like a general.

In his three years thus far, Schooler has 313 total tackles, 46 tackles for loss, nine sacks, four interceptions (including a pick-six), three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. Schooler is the first Arizona player since Marcus Bell to go over 300 career tackles, and he still has his senior season in front of him.

Marquis Flowers (2010-13)

As both a defensive back and linebacker, Flowers proved that the buzz regarding his recruitment was worth it.

As a high four-star prospect from Goodyear, Flowers is one of the most talented players to ever wear a Wildcat uniform. After a slow freshman year, Flowers had a solid season playing both as a linebacker and safety in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, Flowers acted as more of a pure linebacker, and ended up with two great years to show for it.

Flowers ended his Arizona career with 273 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, five interceptions (with one being for a touchdown), and three fumble recoveries.

Secondary

Shaquille Richardson (2010-13)

One of the most reliable defensive backs in school history almost didn’t come to Tucson. Thankfully he did, and he has an outstanding career to show for it.

Originally committed to UCLA, Richardson was dismissed from the Bruins before his freshman year. He came to Arizona, and instantly made an impact in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He emerged as a starter in his sophomore year, and started every game but two in his final three years.

Richardson finished his career with 186 tackles, 10 interceptions—one of which was returned for a score—and two forced fumbles.

Robert Golden (2008-11)

In the wake of Antoine Cason’s stellar career, someone needed to step up and become a star defensive back. Luckily for the Wildcats, Golden was on the roster in those years.

Golden had a minor role in his freshman year in 2008, much like Richardson after him. He still played in every single game of the year, and would play every game of his career. Playing at both cornerback and strong safety under Mike Stoops, Golden flashed his four-star talent throughout his entire career.

Golden finished with 183 tackles, a forced fumble, and four interceptions, half of which were touchdowns.

Dane Cruikshank (2015-17)

Perhaps the best JUCO transfer of the decade for Arizona, Cruikshank became Arizona’s ace in the hole in the latter part of the decade.

After starting his career with two stellar years at Citrus College in California, Cruikshank redshirted in 2015 and became Arizona’s featured cornerback in 2016 before successfully switching to safety as a senior.

Cruikshank wound up with 134 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack, and five interceptions in merely two seasons in the defensive backfield.

Will Parks (2012-15)

One of the most important pieces of Arizona’s best teams of the decades, Parks wound up helping the Wildcats win some of the most important games of the decade.

Parks started his career slowly, mostly acting as a reserve in 2012 and 2013. Once 2014 started, Parks became a key part of a solid defense, starting all 27 games of his junior and senior seasons. His impact was consistently felt in a defensive backfield that had to deal with a ton of pass-heavy offenses.

Parks finished his Arizona career with 197 tackles, 21 of which were for loss. He also intercepted four passes, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Trevin Wade (2007-11)

Wade was another player who had to replace superstar Antoine Cason, and helped Golden turn the Wildcats secondary into a solid unit in Mike Stoops’ last few years.

Wade came to Arizona from Round Rock, Texas and redshirted his first season. After a surprisingly effective freshman year despite only a couple of starts, Wade ended up with three years of huge contributions as a starter for the Wildcats.

Wade finished his career with 182 total tackles, and an impressive 12 career interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Kicker

Casey Skowron (2012-15)

Undoubtedly Arizona’s kicker of the decade, Skowron helped win multiple games during Arizona’s best run of the century.

Skowron started at kicker in 2014 and 2015, and ended up being one of the most reliable special teams players of the decade. He went 38-for-50 in his two years on field goals, and went 116-for-118 on extra points.

Punter

Drew Riggleman (2012-15)

Similarly to Skowron, Riggleman helped lead Arizona’s special teams unit during the Wildcats solid run from 2012 to 2015. Riggleman started his final three years at Arizona at punter. Known for his rugby-style punts, Riggleman kicked 184 times for 44 yards on average.

Kick Returner

Tyrell Johnson (2014-17)

Despite only being Arizona’s premier kick returner his freshman and senior years, Johnson was the most exciting player to return kicks in the decade for Arizona. He returned 81 kicks in his Wildcat career, averaging 23.9 yards per return in his four years.

Punt Returner

Shun Brown (2015-18)

After two years as a complementary receiver, Brown jumped into the spotlight on offense at the same time he became Arizona’s best punt returner of the decade. In only two years returning punts, Brown grabbed 38 punts, getting an average of 9.4 yards per return, along with two touchdowns in his junior season.

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What Adia Barnes said before Arizona’s road games at USC and No. 10 UCLA

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Adia Barnes began her weekly press conference with a wide smile.

“Undefeated in the Pac-12, that’s great,” she said Tuesday. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to say that.”

No. 18 Arizona is riding high with confidence, and caution, after capturing its first win at ASU in 19 years. After all, this is the Pac-12 and a new week means another set of formidable foes. The Wildcats (12-0, 1-0 Pac-12) will head to Los Angeles this weekend to face USC (8-4, 0-1) and No. 10 UCLA (12-0, 1-0) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Arizona only played the L.A. schools once in the regular season last year, coming away with a home split. UA beat the Trojans 71-68 and lost to the Bruins 98-93 in triple overtime. The Wildcats then thumped USC in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, 76-48.

Here’s what Barnes had to say leading up to the rematches. The transcript is below.

Adia Barnes previews Arizona Women's Basketball’s upcoming road trip to USC and No. 10 UCLA, gives an update on Dominique McBryde’s ankle, and more

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Tuesday, December 31, 2019

On what she wants to see at USC and UCLA: “I want to see the same intensity, but I want to see a better start. The last two games, against ASU and Santa Barbara, we haven’t started out as strong as we were for the whole season before that. So I want to see us come out with a little bit of fire the first couple of minutes, not get down and dig ourselves a hole and come back. And there’s just little things we’re working on. Some of our offensive spacing, some of our positioning on defense can get better, so we worked on that today. I’m hoping that we can translate that into games.”

On the challenges USC presents: “They’re really athletic. I think the one of the biggest challenges is playing on the road in the Pac-12. That’s a challenge in itself regardless of who you’re playing. But we know USC’s a really good team. (First-year coach) Mark Trakh does a really good job with his team. They’re very organized, they’re going to be aggressive, they’re gonna be versatile. We know that we have to play well. And then we go into UCLA. It’s a tough weekend. I feel like in the Pac-12 there isn’t one easy weekend. We know we’re playing two really athletic teams that play really well at home. So we just have to go and be able to take care of business on the road.”

On the importance of playing well away from McKale Center: “If you can get a sweep in this conference at home, it’s great. If you can get a sweep on the road, it is phenomenal, which it won’t happen for a lot of teams that often. And if you can go and if you could split on the road (that’s fine). You just don’t want to go on the road and not win games.”

On the difference between Arizona now and last year: “We’re a better team. We don’t rely so much on Aari (McDonald) having to do everything. I think we’re better defensively. We have more depth. We have more length on the perimeter. I think we’re just more of a team this year, which I think makes us tougher. We still need to get one or two more people in double digits. We have to, but I think that’ll come. I think Helena, Tara (Manumaleuga), Mara (Mote), they’re freshmen that are coming into their own, and Sevval (Gul). I think Sevval is going to be huge, but it takes time. So I thought we played really, really well against USC in the Pac-12 Tournament but they’re so different. So are we. They rely a lot on underclassmen. I think we have confidence right now, so we just have to kind of continue to do what we’re doing. But I think we’re a better defensive team this year than we were last year.”

On freshman Helena Pueyo stepping up when McDonald sat vs. ASU with foul trouble, and if she thinks about how that’s what the future of the program will look like when McDonald is gone: “I think about that a lot. Helena is going to get better and better. She’s already improved so much from the beginning of the year. I think she’s just kind of showing a little bit of what she can do. She’s gonna be better. When I look back and I think about it, last year if Aari had two fouls or played 28 minutes, we wouldn’t have won. And we’ve done that multiple times this year. She was only averaging like 27 minutes the whole non-conference. So if we can win games when Aari’s in foul trouble, it’s really good. So I think that that’s what a team can do. And think about it. We’ve been without Dominique (McBryde) for a month. She’s just starting to come back. So we’ve been able to win on the road against good teams without a starter, a starter who plays 35 minutes a game. So I think different people are stepping up and we have to continue to do that”

On McBryde’s ankle injury: “She’s just jogging now, so we’re expecting her back within the week. So we’ll see, but we’re not rushing it until she’s 100 percent. I don’t want her to play at 75 percent. For me, it’s not worth it, so we’re just kind of taking it day by day.”

On if McBryde will immediately return to the starting lineup or get eased back in: “I don’t know yet. I think it would depend on how ready she was. But I’m gonna put her in a situation where she can be successful. I’m not gonna go and bring her back and play her 35 minutes. So I’m just going to ease her back in because the main thing is having her for the entire rest of the season. That’s the goal.”

On if she is concerned about having to change the rotation once McBryde returns: “No, because I think that it makes us better later. Because if I can get our starters to play less minutes, I think the longevity of them being fresh in the year is good. So I don’t really think about that. I think that just different people gonna step up in different nights and we just kind of go in and see who’s playing best at that time.”

On the UCLA game possibly being a matchup of undefeated teams: “I haven’t looked that far ahead. Yeah, that looks scary (laughs). No, I think that’s fun. I think if we can go and handle business at USC, I think we’ve done a really good job because I think at this point, the rankings really mean nothing because of the way our conference is. And I think it’s also harder because you’re the hunted instead of the one that’s hunting. So I think that could be a great matchup. But I think that the first thing is we’ve got to be able to play against USC, play well, and feel good going into UCLA. And then it’s going to be a battle.

“But the other great thing is UCLA also has play ASU. So that’s going to be a very physical game. That’s going to be a tough game. So I think it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens. I really don’t look ahead. But yeah, I never even thought about that. It would be a battle. I think our players remember what it felt like to lose in three overtimes, and to play 48 minutes. So I think those are going to be great games. I think they’re all pumped for it.”

On the 3-point shooting struggles vs. ASU: “I think they’re just a great defensive team that puts a lot of pressure on you. I think that our shooters got a little bit tight and Helena and Sam (Thomas) stopped taking shots. And I think that’s just what it was. It’s kind of been like that last couple games, but we’re working on shooting now. I told them I don’t care if you’re 0 for 5, keep on shooting. So hopefully you’ll see that turn around because we have to shoot the 3 better.”

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Ex-Wildcat Earl Mitchell signs with 49ers for playoffs, per report

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The list of Arizona Wildcats in the NFL during the 2019 season was a short one, and the number of former UA players that will participate in the playoffs is even smaller. But not as small as it was a few days ago, thanks to the San Francisco 49ers.

According to James Palmer of NFL Network, the No. 1 seed in the NFC has signed defensive lineman Earl Mitchell for the postseason run.

49ers are bringing back veteran defensive lineman Earl Mitchell per source. Could help with some depth on the DL and has always been a solid player against the run.

— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) December 31, 2019

Mitchell, 32, last played in 2018 when he started 12 games for the 49ers in the second year with the team. After being released he signed with the Seattle Seahawks this past summer but didn’t make the team, and in November he announced his retirement.

A third-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2010, Mitchell played there from 2010-13 then spent 2014-16 with the Miami Dolphins. In 130 career games, 66 starts, Mitchell has 6.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss.

This would be Mitchell’s fourth playoff appearance, having made it in 2011-12 with Houston and 2016 with Miami.

Mitchell played for the UA from 2006-09, starting out as a running back before moving to defense and logging eight sacks with 18 tackles for loss over his final two seasons.

He joins kicker Nick Folk (New England Patriots), defensive back Dane Cruikshank (Tennessee Titans) and DE/LB Reggie Gilbert (Titans) as former Wildcats in the playoffs.

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Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball all-decade team

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Who were the best Wildcats in the 2010s?

To commemorate the end of the decade, we will be compiling an all-decade (2010-19) team for each of the major Arizona programs. Next up: women’s basketball.

The decade started out with some promise. After struggling for five years under two coaches, Niya Butts finally had her first winning season as the Wildcats’ coach in 2010-11. Everyone hoped it was a turning point, but it proved to be a mirage.

Five years later, Butts was out and the biggest star in Arizona women’s basketball history was returning to her alma mater as its coach. There were no recruits. New coach Adia Barnes was able to convince Spanish guard Lucia Alonso to come to Arizona. She then set about a complete rebuild of the program, starting with the culture, then proceeding to upgrade the talent and install her own system.

Given the changes in the program over the last few years, there will definitely be a recency bias in this list. Newer fans of the women’s program may be a bit surprised to find out that there were some greats in the Butts era, though.

The program has been strong at the power forward position for years, making the all-decade team a bit unbalanced towards frontcourt players.

Let’s get to it.

Guards

Aari McDonald (2017-present)*

The only way to keep McDonald from scoring was to keep her on the bench. The Pac-12 was lucky that she had to sit out the 2017-18 season after transferring from Washington, because she has been devastating since she was allowed to take the court in an Arizona uniform.

In her first season, McDonald shattered the program’s single-season scoring record held by her coach. In 1998, Barnes scored 653 points in 30 games as a senior. Her redshirt sophomore protege had 890 in 37 games. McDonald’s 24.1 points per game were third in the nation, making her the top returning scorer for the 2019-20 season.

The result was honorable mention on the All-American lists of both the Associated Press and the WBCA. That honor was the first for a Wildcat since Davellyn Whyte. McDonald was named to both the All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Defense teams.

McDonald’s huge redshirt sophomore season meant that she ran past 1,000 points in her Arizona career early in her second year in Tucson. That put her firmly in the top 20 all-time despite having played just over 40 games.

She’s not just a scorer, either. Her 172 assists were the most by a Wildcat in a single season since Reshea Bristol in 2001. The mark placed her fourth on the program’s all-time list. McDonald’s 96 steals tied Bristol for the most in a season in program history, and she played more minutes than any Wildcat ever.

McDonald made every preseason list she was eligible for heading into her junior season, from preseason All-Pac-12 to the John R. Wooden Award watch list. While she isn’t scoring as much as she did last season, she doesn’t need to for this Wildcat team to succeed. She’s also playing far fewer minutes, which Barnes says should keep her fresher for the Pac-12 season.

*Includes redshirt year

Davellyn Whyte (2009-2013)

Whyte was part of the most successful team under Butts when the Wildcats finished 21-12 and went to the WNIT in the 2010-11 season. She’s also one of the program’s all-time greats. Along with Ify Ibekwe, Whyte is one of those greats who wore an Arizona uniform during the years that the program struggled and there wasn’t a lot of public support.

Despite the state of the program at the time, the Phoenix native was the 2010 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, a four-time member of the coaches’ All-Pac-12 team, and a three-time selection of the media. She was also an honorable mention selection of the 2012 AP All-American team.

Whyte led the team in scoring average in 2010, 2012 and 2013 and was the overall scoring leader all four years. She scored over 500 points in three of her four seasons, becoming just the second Wildcat to reach 2,000 points for her career. Her 2,059 points put her second on the all-time scoring list.

Whyte was just the fourth alumna of the Wildcat women’s team to have her name raised into the Ring of Honor in McKale Center, joining Barnes, Shawntinice Polk and Dee Dee Wheeler.

Wings

Sam Thomas (2017-present)

A master of all trades, the junior was the first top-100 recruit Barnes landed. As Barnes often relates, she had nothing to show Thomas at the time. The star from powerhouse Centennial High in Las Vegas simply trusted the vision. A vision that Thomas has helped make reality.

Her freshman season, Thomas had to take on a lot of roles, playing more minutes than any Wildcat freshman ever had. She averaged seven rebounds per game, becoming just the fifth Wildcat freshman to ever do so. She led all Pac-12 freshmen in rebounds, steals, blocks and minutes while placing second in scoring. It was enough to land her on the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.

She was also often called on to represent her team to the media in a year when they won just six games and lost to Northern Arizona. Her positive attitude never flagged.

That positivity and vision began to pay off last year. While Thomas took a step back in scoring, her all-around game helped her team to 24 wins and the WNIT title. The 18-game turnaround got the attention of the fanbase.

This season, Thomas is shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line. She averages 1.8 steals and just over one block per game. Her biggest block of the year helped maintain a three-point Arizona lead as the Wildcats beat Arizona State in Tempe for the first time in 19 years.

Forwards/Posts

Ify Ibekwe (2007-2011)

Ibekwe’s career straddles the decade marker, but her play as a junior and senior certainly merit inclusion on this list. Like Whyte, Ibekwe was a star who doesn’t always get her due because the program was suffering at the time. The two of them led the Wildcats to their only postseason appearance under Butts.

Ibekwe was the first player to really garner attention since the days of Shawntinice Polk and Dee Dee Wheeler. In fact, in 2008 she was the first member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman team since Polk.

The next season was even better. Ibekwe became the first Wildcat to make the All-Pac-10 first team since Polk and Wheeler in 2005. On the national stage, she was named to the honorable mention list of the 2009 AP All-American team.

As a junior, she was honored for her superb defense by being selected the 2010 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Her 352 rebounds became the Wildcats’ single-season record, breaking the record of 339 that was set by Polk just six years prior.

She led the Wildcats in scoring average in both 2009 and 2011 and led in total scoring in 2009.

Her name was raised into the Ring of Honor during the 2018-19 season, joining her former teammate and becoming the fifth former Wildcat to get the recognition.

Cate Reese (2018-present)

Reese is already on her way to becoming one of the greats at Arizona. As the program’s first McDonald’s All-American, Reese was the most anticipated recruit to ever join the Wildcats. Just a sophomore, she’s already living up to those expectations.

Reese led all Pac-12 freshmen in both scoring and rebounding last year. She was a member of the All-Freshman Team, but missed out on Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.

When the award was voted on, the postseason had not yet been played. At the time, Reese led her class in scoring, but trailed Utah’s Dre’Una Edwards by a few tenths in rebounding. The award went to the Utes’ freshman, but Reese overtook Edwards in rebounds in the Wildcats’ run to the WNIT title.

Reese won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award three times in her first season. She is well onto matching her weekly award total this year despite competing with the league’s older stars. She just picked up her second Pac-12 Player of the Week award on Dec. 30, after recording her fourth double-double of the season in a road win at ASU.

Honorable Mention: LaBrittney Jones (2013-2017)

The strength of the power forward position made it a difficult one to call. Should Jones get the nod for her longevity or Reese for her incredible play at a young age? In the end, Reese’s superior performance in her freshman and sophomore campaigns got her the nod, but Jones should not be forgotten.

Jones spanned the final years of the Butts era into the beginning of the Barnes era. For most of that time, she was a starter for the Wildcats.

Beginning her freshman season, Jones was already a force for Arizona. She started all 30 games and led the team with 5.8 rebounds per game and a total of 32 blocks. Those skills would end up putting her in the program’s record books.

By the time Jones was done, she was eleventh in scoring with 1,263 points, tenth in made field goals with 466, eighth in rebounds with 668, third in blocks with 161 and ninth in made free throws with 305.

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Derrick Williams says he turned down NBA offers to sign with Fenerbahce

Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

Former Arizona Wildcats standout Derrick Williams wants you to know why he’s not on an NBA roster this season. An opportunity to join Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce this summer was too much to pass up.

“I turned down NBA offers to come to [Fenerbahce],” Williams tweeted Monday. “I love it so far. There will be better days in 2020.”

Just to let people know I turned down nba offers to come to @FBBasketbol .. I love it so far .. there will be better days in 2020

— Derrick Williams (@DWXXIII) December 30, 2019

Williams signed a one-year deal with Fenerbahce, worth roughly $1.5 million, a little less than he would have earned under a minimum contract in the NBA.

But rather than be at the end of a rotation or perpetually on the chopping block, Williams starts for Fenerbahce, averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3.

Fenerbahce has reached the EuroLeague final four in four of the past five seasons, including 2016-17 when it won the whole thing, but it’s currently 5-11. The squad features former NBA players like Nando de Colo, Luigi Datome, Joffrey Lauvergne, and Jan Vesely.

Last season, Williams averaged 12.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game with the German club Bayern Munich. That was his second year playing overseas. He starred for the Tianjin Gold Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2017-18.

That was after Williams spent parts of seven mostly unsuccessful seasons with six different NBA teams. It’s unlikely he ever envisioned his career unfolding this way when he was the No. 2 overall pick out of Arizona in 2011, but at least he seems to be enjoying himself overseas.

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Arizona Wildcats basketball all-decade team

T.J. McConnell | Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Who were the best Wildcats in the 2010s?

To commemorate the end of the decade, we will be compiling an all-decade (2010-19) team for each of the major Arizona programs. Next up: men’s basketball.

The Arizona Wildcats were dawning a new era at the turn of the decade. After two years of interim coaches, the UA hired former Xavier coach Sean Miller prior to the 2009-10 season, tasking him with rebuilding a program that Lute Olson had transformed into a West Coast power.

Some (cough, Andy Katz, cough) believed it would be several years before the Wildcats returned to relevancy. Turns out it’d be two. Arizona went 30-8 in 2010-11, Miller’s second season, reaching the Elite Eight for the ninth time in school history.

It started a tour-de-force by the Wildcats, who have gone 274-92 under Miller, including five Pac-12 championships, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and three Elite Eights in 10 years.

Arizona was arguably the best program in the country from 2013 to 2015, when it won 88 percent of its games and made back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight, losing by a combined eight points in a pair of gut-wrenching defeats to Wisconsin.

The Wildcats couldn’t recapture that level of excellence in the second half of the decade. Arizona has won just two NCAA Tournament games since then, both during the 2016-17 season.

There has been no shortage of talent in Tucson, but the Wildcats have struggled to piece it together. It didn’t help that in September 2017, former assistant coach Book Richardson was arrested and later sentenced to three months in prison for bribery, stemming from his involvement in the college basketball corruption scandal.

That, and an ESPN report that said Deandre Ayton was offered $100,000 to play at Arizona, put Miller’s future in serious doubt for a couple years there. Things have quieted on that front as the Wildcats await the results of a pending NCAA investigation, which could yield harsh sanctions in the 2020s.

But before we get there, let’s take a look back at the top players of the 2010s.

Point guard — T.J. McConnell (2012-2015)*

McConnell was (and still is) a legend in Tucson despite only spending two seasons in an Arizona uniform. His bulldog mentality made him the most loved player in McKale Center—and most despised player in opposing venues.

While most known for his intangibles—his hustle, his passion, and his leadership—McConnell was no slouch as a player. In 76 career games at the UA, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, excelling in nearly every facet of the game. He shot an efficient 48 percent from the field and posted an assist-to-turnover ratio better than 3 to 1. His numbers were even better in Pac-12 contests, showing his ability to step up when it mattered most.

But the most important stat of all? He won. The Wildcats went 67-9 with McConnell at point, including two Pac-12 Championships and a pair of Elite Eight appearances. And, if not for Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker going nuclear and/or Brandon Ashley’s foot injury, Arizona probably would have made its first Final Four since 2001.

Yes, McConnell was surrounded by great players, but he helped get the best out of them. Whether it was challenging them emotionally or setting them up with pristine passes, he was the glue of those teams. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that the program hasn’t been the same since he graduated.

*includes redshirt year

Shooting guard — Nick Johnson (2011-14)

A springy two-guard, Johnson steadily improved over his three-year career, peaking his junior season when he averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists with a pretty good .432/.367/.781 shooting line.

That season, he and McConnell formed a tenacious backcourt, as both were pesky defenders, willing to do the dirty work. The 6-foot-3 Tempe native didn’t have the ideal size for his position, but made up for it with explosive athleticism. (His nickname is Bunnies for a reason)

Johnson was a consensus All-American and the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2014. Some will argue he should have returned for his senior season, but, aside from making a Final Four, he didn’t have much left to prove at this level.

Small forward — Solomon Hill (2009-13)

This is the hardest position to discern because you can make a strong argument for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Aaron Gordon. (For the record, I’d place RHJ over Gordon. I will explain in a second.)

But I gave Hill the nod for one major reason: his career path. He stayed for all four seasons and improved each year, eventually averaging a career-high 13.4 PPG as a senior with a shooting line of .458/.390/.766. That’s exactly double his scoring average from his freshman season.

Yet, he was well-rounded too. Hill averaged 5.6 rebounds per game for his career, including 7.7 as a junior, and played multiple positions defensively. It led him to be a first-round NBA Draft pick.

That kind of progression used to be commonplace in college basketball, but it has gone to the wayside at Arizona in the one-and-done era.

That is the same reason why I’d put Hollis-Jefferson over Gordon. RHJ was just as productive as a sophomore as Gordon was as a freshman. Add RHJ’s solid freshman season into the equation and he made a bigger impact on the program than Gordon, even though the latter was the more talented player.

For reference, here are the stats from Hollis-Jefferson’s sophomore season and Gordon’s freshman season. Both were exquisite, versatile defenders.

• RHJ: 28.7 MPG, 11.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 50.2 FG%, 57.3 TS%
• AG: 31.2 MPG, 12.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 49.5 FG%, 35.6 3PT%, 50.3 TS%

Really though, you can’t go wrong with any of these guys.

Power forward — Derrick Williams (2009-11)

No player has had more of an impact on the Miller era of Arizona basketball than Derrick Williams. First, let’s talk about how he wound up in Tucson in the first place. Former USC coach Tim Floyd resigned in June 2009, causing the Trojans’ commits to reopen their recruitments very late in the process.

Three of them—Hill, Williams, and the electric MoMo Jones—joined the Wildcats. (Hill was originally committed to Arizona but flipped to USC when Olson’s status became uncertain, so him landing at the UA was not a big surprise.)

Ironically, Williams was the least-heralded of the three. 247Sports pegged him as the No. 94 recruit while other recruiting services, like Rivals, listed him as a three-star recruit. None of the powerhouse programs offered him.

But Williams destroyed worlds from the moment he stepped on the UA campus. In just his second game, he had 27 points and 14 rebounds—on 9-of-10 shooting!—in a win over New Mexico State. That set the tone for a freshman season in which he averaged 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game on 57 percent shooting.

His unexpected emergence was the No. 1 reason the Wildcats were respectable in Miller’s first year when they went 16-15 overall and 8-10 in the Pac-12. They were supposed to be a lot worse after losing Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger to the NBA and having to scrape together a signing class at the last minute.

Williams then brought Arizona back to prominence as a sophomore, leading them to a 30-8 record. The La Mirada, California native averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game with an insane .595/.568/.746 shooting line. He was the Pac-12 Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.

Athletic and strong, Williams could spot-up, post-up, or take you off the dribble. He was unstoppable at the elbow and eventually expanded his game to the 3-point line where he shot almost 60 percent.

Williams led No. 5-seeded Arizona to the Elite Eight, averaging 22.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament. His hallmark game came against No. 2-seeded Duke when he poured in 32 points and 13 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting in a 93-77 rout of the Blue Devils. (Remember all those dunks?)

Arizona heartbreakingly lost to UConn in the next round, and a few months later Williams was off to the NBA as the No. 2 overall pick.

Center — Deandre Ayton (2017-18)

I am confident in saying that Ayton is the most talented player to ever wear an Arizona uniform. He was 7-feet tall, armed with a 7-6 wingspan, a 43.5-inch vertical, sweet footwork, a solid midrange game, soft touch around the rim, and reliable hands. Basically, if you could design a big man in a lab, he would be the specimen.

Ayton, who averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds per game with extraordinary efficiency, captured all the individual accolades you could dream of in his lone season in the desert. He was Pac-12 Player and Freshman of the Year, a consensus First-Team All-American, won the Karl Malone Award, set several school records, and was the first Wildcat to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, his legacy will be stained by the first-round exit against Buffalo and that questionable ESPN report, whose veracity remains shaky at best. And while his 25-game drug suspension with the Suns has nothing to do with his time at Arizona, it hasn’t helped him repair his reputation.

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Arizona’s Cate Reese wins second Pac-12 Player of the Week award after ASU victory

Photo courtesy Simon Asher/Arizona Athletics

The occasion couldn’t have been bigger. Putting an 11-0 record on the line. Traveling to Tempe, where the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats hadn’t won since 2000. Missing important teammates due to fouls or injuries. Cate Reese answered the bell with a double-double against Arizona State and claimed the Pac-12 Player of the Week award for the second time this season.

Reese scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the Wildcats seal a 58-53 win. She added a steal and a block to her stat line. In a game where Aari McDonald missed over a quarter due to foul trouble, Arizona desperately needed their second-year forward to step up. She did, as she has all season.

The former McDonald’s All-American is averaging 14.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field in her sophomore campaign. On the defensive end, she’s adding 1.4 steals and one block per game. Those are all improvements over her freshman season when she was selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team.

This is the second Player of the Week award for Reese both the season and for her career. The Wildcats have taken the award three times this year with McDonald winning after the team defeated Texas in week two.

Here’s Cate Reese after Arizona Women's Basketball’s road win over ASU

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Sunday, December 29, 2019

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Arizona women’s basketball stays put in AP poll despite win at ASU

Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Despite picking up its first win at Arizona State in almost two decades, the Arizona women’s basketball team remained at No. 18 in the latest AP Poll released Monday.

It’s the sixth straight week Arizona is in the Top 25. Before this season, it had not been ranked since the 2004-05 campaign.

The Wildcats are 12-0, off to the best start in program history. They rank No. 2 in the country in defensive rating and No. 31 in offensive rating, as well as No. 1 in scoring defense and No. 14 in field goal percentage. They have won 18 games in a row dating back to last season, the longest active streak in the country.

Oregon (2), Oregon State (3), Stanford (5), and UCLA (10) are also ranked. ASU and Colorado are receiving votes.

Arizona heads to Los Angeles this week to face USC and UCLA on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

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Arizona falls in AP Poll entering Pac-12 play

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats were off last week but still dropped a spot in the latest AP Poll that was released Monday. Arizona (10-3) will enter Saturday’s Pac-12 opener vs. Arizona State as the No. 25 team in the country.

Oregon (4) is the only other Pac-12 team in the Top 25. Washington, previously No. 21, dropped out after losing to Houston in Hawaii. Colorado is knocking at the door with 74 votes, the most among non-ranked teams.

KenPom ranks Arizona as the No. 16 team in the country, with the No. 12 offense and No. 44 defense.

Here is the full AP Top 25:

1. Gonzaga Bulldogs
2. Duke Blue Devils
3. Kansas Jayhawks
4. Oregon Ducks
5. Ohio State Buckeyes
6. Baylor Bears
7. Louisville Cardinals
8. Auburn Tigers
9. Memphis Tigers
10. Villanova Wildcats
11. Butler Bulldogs
12. Michigan Wolverines
13. San Diego State Aztecs
14. Michigan State Spartans
15. Maryland Terrapins
16. West Virginia Mountaineers
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Florida State Seminoles
19. Virginia Cavaliers
20. Dayton Flyers
21. Penn State Nittany Lions
22. Texas Tech Red Raiders
23. Iowa Hawkeyes
24. Wichita State Shockers
25. Arizona Wildcats

Others receiving votes: Colorado 74, Xavier 58, DePaul 47, Washington 40, Northern Iowa 32, Utah State 30, Saint Mary’s 28, Marquette 27, Arkansas 19, Purdue 12, Georgetown 10, Creighton 10, Indiana 5, Houston 4, St. John’s 3, Virginia Tech 3, East Tennessee State 2, Seton Hall 2, BYU 2, Stanford 1, Yale 1, Florida 1

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How former Arizona Wildcats fared in the NFL in 2019

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The 2019 NFL regular season has come to a close, so now is a good time to check in and see how all the former Arizona Wildcats fared in the league.

Note that this list, which is very short, does not include practice-squad players like Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (49ers) or PJ Johnson (Chargers).

QB Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

2019 stats: 4 games (4 starts), 736 passing yards, 65.8 completion percentage, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 84.6 QB rating

Age, year in league: 30, 8

Pro Football Focus grade: 65.0 (backup-caliber)

Contract status: In first year of four-year, $88 million contract.

Notable: Foles broke his collarbone in Week 1, sidelining him until Week 11. He returned to the starting lineup when healthy, taking over for former Washington State Cougars quarterback Gardner Minshew, but struggled and was benched in Week 13. Foles went 0-4 as a starter. He is guaranteed at least $50 million during the life of his contract and will carry a dead cap hit of roughly $33.8 million if he is cut prior to next season, so it’s hard to imagine the Jaguars releasing him. A trade could be possible.

S Will Parks, Denver Broncos

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

2019 stats: 14 games (7 starts), 34 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 2 passes defended

Age, year in league: 25, 4

PFF grade: 57.7 (replaceable)

Contract status: In final year of four-year, $2.44 million contract. Scheduled to hit free agency this spring.

Notes: The former sixth-round pick broke his hand against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football on Oct. 18, sidelining him for two games. He recorded his first career sack in Week 13 vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.

K Nick Folk, New England Patriots

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

2019 stats: 7 games, 14 for 17 on field goals, 12 for 12 on extra points, 8 for 8 from 20-39 yards, 4 for 7 from 40-49 yards, 1 for 1 from 50+ yards

Age, year in league: 35, 11

Contract status: Signed a one-year, $1.03 million contract. Scheduled to hit free agency in the spring.

Playoffs? Yes. The Patriots will host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6:15 p.m. MST

Notes: After being out of the NFL in 2018, Folk signed with the Patriots in Week 9 but was cut prior to Week 13 after undergoing an appendectomy. He returned to the Patriots in Week 14.

DE/LB Brooks Reed, Arizona Cardinals

Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

2019 stats: 9 games, 8 tackles, 1 sack

Age, year in league: 32, 9

PFF grade: 53.2 (replaceable)

Contract status: Signed a one-year, $1.6 million deal with Cardinals. Scheduled to hit free agency in the spring.

Playoffs? No.

Notes: Reed (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve in Week 10, ending his season.

S Dane Cruikshank, Tennessee Titans

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

2019 stats: 16 games, 10 tackles

Age, year in league: 24, 2

PFF grade: 71.2 (starter-caliber)

Contract status: In second year of four-year, $2.7 million deal with Titans.

Playoffs? Yes. The Titans face the Patriots on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6:15 p.m. MST.

Notes: The former fifth-round pick does most of his work on special teams.

DE/LB Reggie Gilbert, Tennessee Titans

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

2019 stats: 11 games (5 starts), 22 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended

Age, year in league: 26, 2

PFF grade: 67.7 (backup-caliber)

Contract status: On a one-year, $570,000 contract. Scheduled to hit free agency this spring.

Playoffs? Yes. The Titans face the Patriots on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 6:15 p.m. MST.

Notes: He was a healthy scratch for several games.

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What we learned from Arizona’s win at ASU

Photo courtesy Simon Asher/Arizona Athletics

The last time the No. 18 Arizona Wildcats beat the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, head coach Adia Barnes had only just hung up her Arizona jersey a few short years before. Star guard Aari McDonald was just two years old. On Sunday afternoon, the team put an end to that run, winning their first road game against ASU since February, 2000.

The Wildcats were led by McDonald and Cate Reese, but foul trouble meant they had to find a way to win with McDonald on the bench for extended periods. They did it.

What did we learn?

The Wildcats are a team

McDonald picked up her second foul in the first quarter. When she went to the bench with 3:51 to go in the opening frame, her team trailed by five. Last year, that might have meant the opponent was able to go on a run. Not on Sunday.

“We did this all without starters,” Barnes said. “I mean, Dominique (McBryde) plays 35 minutes game. So, how everybody stepped up in different ways. That’s what a team does.”

The Wildcats chipped away, tying it up at the 9:13 mark in the second quarter. Just over a minute later, freshman Helena Pueyo gave them their first lead with a 3-pointer.

The addition of players like Pueyo to a team that already had a strong group of older players stood out to ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne.

“They’ve got a core group back,” Turner Thorne said. “Very experienced, which I think is the difference between us... they just know who they are really well. I think they’ve just built on that, I think is the biggest thing, but I do think that they’ve added some players, as have we and other teams, that are really doing well.”

That core group was without the injured McBryde. McDonald played 29 minutes, far below her average last season. After she fouled out with 1:25 left in the game, it was up to Thomas, Alonso, Reese, Amari Carter and Pueyo to bring home the victory.

Thomas took the fouls from ASU as they tried to extend the game. She calmly stepped to the line and sank four of six. She also had a block and key rebounds in the final minutes.

Alonso helped control the game and corralled a big board of her own. Reese was huge, getting her ninth and tenth rebounds to secure the double-double after McDonald went out for the last time.

Carter was a pest on defense. Pueyo kept her composure despite her youth.

“This team feels like they can beat anybody,” Barnes said. “And I love that. And there were times when, in the last year, we would have folded...this year we calmed down. Then we made some big shots, had some big defensive stops.”

Arizona won the defensive battle

The Sun Devils are known as a defensive team, but the Wildcats have had better numbers this season. Neither team played a particularly tough schedule, so it was difficult to know how that would translate to Pac-12 play. For Arizona, it translated just fine.

ASU expected them to go for a lot of steals. Arizona didn’t do that. They had just three all game compared to eight for the Sun Devils. What they did instead was hold ASU to a very subpar shooting day.

The Sun Devils shot just 30.3 percent from the field. They were even worse from distance, connecting on just 11.1 percent.

It wasn’t just the defense, of course. ASU missed some open shots and hit only 57.9 percent of their free throws, as well, but the game plan worked once Arizona found a way to get around the Sun Devils’ screens.

The Wildcats can win a physical game

On Friday, Barnes and her players said that they expected a difficult, physical, defensive-oriented game. They got that and some.

“It was so brutal,” McDonald said. “It was physical everywhere. Like every play, it was getting physical and chippy a lot. Which, you know, my team didn’t back down and I was proud of that. No one’s gonna bully us. I don’t care if it’s the home court advantage or anything, but we just stood our ground. We played physical, we played together, great team defense, and I couldn’t be more happy.”

Helena Pueyo is a big deal

When a team brings in international players, the fans have to just trust the coaches. There won’t be a lot of media hype, because the players are largely unknown in the U.S. The class won’t get ranked, because the big services either don’t rank them or do so in a very haphazard manner.

Pueyo showed on Sunday why the Arizona staff was so high on their smooth-shooting Spanish guard. She played 32 minutes in the biggest game of the year. While she only had six points, she led the team with five assists and added five rebounds, a block and a steal. Most importantly, she kept her head when her team lost McDonald to fouls.

The big games Pueyo has played for the Spanish national team paid off for the Wildcats. She has played for and won medals. She isn’t afraid. On Sunday, she showed that she can do it in the Pac-12, too.

Feeling fine about that schedule

Barnes says she just rolls her eyes when people criticize the Wildcats’ non-conference schedule. After Sunday, she certainly had the right. Her players felt some vindication, too.

“Everyone has been saying that our non-conference is easy,” Reese said. “It’s not hard. We don’t play strong teams. And then we come out here and we play a team that, you know, they think they were supposed to beat us. So, it just shows that even though maybe our non-conference wasn’t that difficult, we were still up there, and I think it just shows that we have so much more potential for the rest of the season. It’s just a good road win.”

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Adia Barnes, Arizona players recap win at ASU

It was UA’s first win in Tempe since 2000

The Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball team staved off Arizona State 58-53 to open the Pac-12 season Sunday for its first win in Tempe since the 1999-2000 season.

The Wildcats are now 12-0, the best start in school history

Our recap can be found here, and below are postgame interviews with UA coach Adia Barnes and players:

Adia Barnes

Here’s Adia Barnes after Arizona’s win at ASU. Excuse her son for interrupting the interview

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Sunday, December 29, 2019

Aari McDonald (20 points)

Here’s Aari McDonald after Arizona’s road win over ASU

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Sunday, December 29, 2019

Cate Reese (17 points, 10 rebounds)

Here’s Cate Reese after Arizona Women's Basketball’s road win over ASU

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Sunday, December 29, 2019

Sam Thomas (7 points, clutch free throws)

Here’s Sam Thomas after Arizona’s win at ASU. She hit clutch free throws at the end.

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Sunday, December 29, 2019

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Arizona staves off ASU for first win in Tempe since 1999

TEMPE — Adia Barnes got exactly what she expected—a low-scoring defensive battle between two bitter rivals.

And it was her defense that continues to prevail.

No. 18 Arizona staved off Arizona State 58-53 on Sunday to open the Pac-12 season. The Wildcats held the Sun Devils to 30 percent shooting, including a 22-percent mark in the second half, as they captured their first win in Tempe since the 1998-99 campaign.

Arizona improves to 12-0, continuing the best start in program history, and has won 18 straight games. ASU drops to 10-3.

UA star guard Aari McDonald sat for a large portion of the first half due to foul trouble, but finished still managed to finish with a game-high 20 points. In the latest evidence that Arizona is no longer a one-woman show, Cate Reese and Helena Pueyo shouldered the scoring duties when McDonald was riding the pine.

Reese had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Pueyo, playing in her first Pac-12 game, chipped in with six points and five assists. They scored nine straight points at one point to give UA a 15-12 lead in the second quarter after it got off to a slow start.

Arizona led the entire second half and by nine midway through the fourth before the Sun Devils rattled off a 6-0 run to make it 53-50 with 2:14 to play. ASU forward Iris Mbulito scored underneath to make it a one-point game with a minute left.

Sam Thomas drove into the lane to draw a foul and coolly sank two free throws to push the lead back to three with 36.6 seconds left. Thomas then deflected a potential game-tying 3, Reese corralled the rebound, and Thomas split a pair of free throws to put UA up by four with 22 seconds left.

Mbulito clanked two free throws at the other end and Thomas split another pair to ice the game.

Arizona returns to action Friday when it faces USC in Los Angeles.

This story will be updated.

Notes

• Dominique McBryde (ankle), Tee Tee Starks (shoulder), and Birna Benonysdottir (concussion) all sat out for the Wildcats

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Arizona Wildcats baseball all-decade team

Bobby Dalbec | Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

To commemorate the end of the decade, we will be compiling an all-decade (2010-19) team for each of the major Arizona programs. Next up: baseball.

The 2010s was a decade of ups and downs for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team, to the extreme in both directions.

Between the years 2010-19 the program claimed its fourth College World Series title (2012) and made the championship series in the 2016 CWS, but also failed to make the postseason five times including the last two seasons.

Andy Lopez guided the program for the first half of the decade, stepping down after the 2015 campaign, with Jay Johnson catching lightning in a bottle in his first year in 2016 after being hired away from Nevada. Overall it was a solid 10 years of Arizona baseball, and below are the players who stood out most in that time span.

Our all-decade team is comprised of one player for each position, including three for the outfield, as well as a designated hitter and five pitching slots. Several Wildcats could have landed on the list in various places, so to maximize the overall strength of the team some players aren’t at the position they may have been best known for while in Tucson.

Catcher

Austin Wells (2019-present)

Wells has only been at Arizona for one season but that was more than enough to land this spot. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2019 after hitting .353 with freshman school records in runs scored (73) and on-base percentage (.462).

First base

JJ Matijevic (2015-17)

Matijevic won the 2017 Pac-12 batting title as a junior, hitting .383, while also leading the league in hits, doubles, RBI, total bases and slugging. His 30 doubles tied Dave Stegman’s single-season school record from 1976.

Second base

Johnny Field (2011-13)

A .343 career hitter, Field was an anchor at second for his three seasons, starting 166 games including all 65 during the 2012 national championship season. He hit .370 that year overall and had only eight errors for his career

Shortstop

Kevin Newman (2013-15)

Arizona’s only first-round draft pick of the decade, Newman hit .370 as a junior in 2015 and .337 for his career. His 46 stolen bases are two fewer than the number of strikeouts he had in 674 college at-bats.

Third baseman

Nick Quintana (2017-19)

Quintana was Arizona’s top slugger of the 2010s, hitting 35 home runs to rank fourth in school history while his 77 RBI as a junior in 2019 were ninth-most for a Wildcat. His 15 homers in ‘19 were tied for the most in a season in the 2010s.

Outfield

Zach Gibbons (2013-16)

Gibbons had 107 hits as a senior in 2016, second-most in school history, and finished with 291 to rank fourth all-time. He also ranked second in Arizona history in games played (231) and at-bats (860), trailing only Chip Hale in both categories.

Scott Kingery (2013-15)

Kingery was best known for his play at second base, where he starred in 2015 by leading the Pac-12 with a .392 batting average. Arizona had quite a few good guys at that position during the decade, so Kingery’s time in the outfield as a freshman and sophomore landed him out there. After all, it’s where he played most for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019.

Robert Refsnyder (2010-12)

Refsnyder played 171 games, fifth-most in school history, and as a junior in 2012 hit .364 with 66 RBI on the NCAA title team. He was the College World Series’ Most Outstanding Player after going 10 for 21 with five RBI in Omaha.

Designated hitter

Bobby Dalbec (2014-16)

Dalbec was worthy of all-decade spots at third base and pitcher for his multi-use excellence from 2014-16, particularly during Arizona’s run to the CWS championship series in 2016. That season he went 11-6 with a 2.50 ERA and a team-best seven saves while also hitting seven home runs. He finished his career with 24 homers, including a Pac-12 leading 15 as a sophomore in 2015.

Pitcher

Nathan Bannister (2013-16)

Went 12-2 with a 2.59 ERA as a senior for Arizona’s 2016 national runner-up team, holding opponents to a .202 batting average. His 142.1 innings pitched that year are 10th-most in school history.

JC Cloney (2015-16)

Went 15-6 in two seasons after transferring from a junior college, going 8-4 with a 2.45 ERA on the 2016 team that reached the College World Series championship series. Went 2-0 with 16 scoreless innings pitched at CWS.

Kurt Heyer (2010-12)

Ranks fourth in school history with 356 strikeouts, with 134 coming as a sophomore and 113 as a junior when he went 13-2 with a 2.24 ERA for the 2012 NCAA championship team. His 28 wins are tied for eighth-most at Arizona.

Mathew Troupe (2012-15)

Troupe was on pace to become Arizona’s career saves leader after registering 15 in 2012-13, while also winning twice during the 2012 College World Series. Tommy John surgery in 2014 derailed his career, limiting him to four appearances over the next two seasons, yet he’s still tied for third on the career saves list and went 12-1 overall.

Konner Wade (2011-13)

Wade went 19-9 in three seasons, setting a freshman ERA record (3.21) in 2011, then went 11-3 in 2012 on Wildcats’ NCAA championship team with two victories at the College World Series.

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